1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an outboard motor control system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2004-124816 (particularly paragraphs 0020 and 0021) teaches an outboard motor control system that uses actuators to perform outboard motor steering, engine speed regulation and shifting. The system is equipped with a steering actuator for steering the outboard motor by driving its steering shaft, a throttle actuator for regulating the speed of the internal combustion engine mounted in the outboard motor by opening/closing the throttle valve of the engine, a shift actuator for changing the shift position by driving the shift mechanism of the outboard motor, operation units (steering wheel and shift/throttle lever) manipulated by the operator for inputting at least one operator command among an outboard motor steering command, an engine speed regulation command and a shift position change command, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the actuators in accordance with the operator commands inputted through the operation units.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2001-304909 (particularly paragraphs 0003 etc.) teaches an autopilot system that acquires information on the position of the boat during navigation and automatically navigates the boat to eliminate deviation between the position according to the acquired information and a preset desired course position.
Conventionally, autopilot systems for a boat powered by the outboard motor are installed separately of the outboard motor. For example, the conventional autopilot system is equipped with an actuator for steering the outboard motor, a global positioning system (GPS) for acquiring boat position information, and a control unit for controlling the operation of the actuator in accordance with the output of the GPS, and these components are installed independently of the control unit and actuators of the outboard motor.
Specifically, in the prior art, the control unit required for autopilot navigation and the object to be controlled, i.e., the actuator are provided separately of those of the outboard motor, i.e., the control unit required for steering by the operator and the object to be controlled. As a result, the overall control system of the outboard motor lacks simplicity of configuration and tends to be large in size and complicated to install. In addition, conventional autopilot systems offer only outboard motor steering capability, i.e., their autopilot features do not extend to boat speed regulation or stopping, which is inconvenient.